What are you saying when you pass the Peace?   “Peace” is one of the difficult words.  As soon as we hear it we think we know what it means.  Chris probably is thinking about the lake, his boat and fishing.  Oh what a peaceful thought.  Someone else shared with me her idea of the ideal fishing experience is sitting in the boat on the lake but NOT catching anything.  That is relaxing, that is peace!   Someone else may be thinking of the time when the kids go off to bed and it becomes quite in the house.   We all have a something that comes immediately to mind.  What has jumped into your mind with the word “peace”?  (ask for feedback)

     Peace is a word that all of us on one level or another strive for.  Whether that it is on an international level, a denominational level, a congregational or personal level.  Yet it seems so illusive. 

What are the obstacles to peace?

      Our scripture reading today is set in the context of Jesus’ departure from his disciples.  He is preparing them for the events that will soon be upon them: his arrest and crucifixion.  He knows that this is going to be a difficult period.  The disciples will have every reason to believe that all is lost.  Their hopes and dreams for a new era will be crushed.  And their pain will turn to fear and their fear will compound their grief.  It is in this context  that  Jesus says Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.  I do not give to you as the world gives. 

     Peace! 

     But what really is peace?  Is it the absence of differences?  Is it inactivity?  Is it when everything is going well and I am feeling all is right with the world?  It may be some of that.  And let’s hope that from time to time we get to taste that slice of life.  But that is not the depth of peace.

    Peace is not simply the cessation of hostilities.  While we can all hope for the end of fighting in Iraq, Afganhastan and other parts of the world, that, in and of itself will not be peace to those living in that area, nor to ourselves.  We may all simply be waiting for the other shoe to drop, for chaos to strike from another direction. 

     Peace is not simply the absence of differences.  Oh, I admit, there is a strong longing inside of me for others to agree with me and then we can have peace!  Wouldn’t it be great if we could agree regarding the inclusion of all, homosexuals and heterosexuals, rich and poor, multiracial, multiethnic and well educated and poorly educated, all to be vital partners in the church?  But the commitment to inclusivity has disturbed the peace.  It is clear, openness to all will not result in peace.   We will simply relocate area of tension and stress.  In fact without areas of stress or tension there is no growth.    

      There is not growth without conflict.  If we want a place where there is no conflict we will find a place that is in the process of dying.  Conflict is a sign of health.  I know you are going to say well you can have too much health!  So where do we find peace?

     This scripture reading begins with a declaration that love is the bond between God, Jesus and the disciples.  And it ends with the caution that love will be that which will not hang on, but will let the other go.  Our wellbeing, our peace, is liberating to the other not smothering or possessing.  Love is the key to peace.  Jesus tells us once again that God loves us and that love can be with us regardless of the storms that surround us.

     To be reminded that God cares for us and God is at work in this world for our benefit is peace.  To know that God is God and that God loves us is peace.  The bottom line is that of Psalm 23 “I shall not want”.  God is the only real necessity.

     The past two weeks have kicked up some painful feelings again for some of us.  The children’s lyric sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me may be cute, but it is blatantly false.  We get stung when we are called names.  We hurt deeply when we are attacked, and it’s tempting to want to retaliate or defend ourselves.  Our peace is broken because we recognize a relationship is broken.  It hurts to think of our friends who are now in The Gathering.  Distance is destructive.  Separation stinks!

        Tomorrow at exactly 12:52 p.m. it will be 50 years ago that Brown Vs Board of Education was determined that separate was not equal.  It became the dream that integrating education would bring about a new world of peace and justice - which fifty years later is still unfulfilled.  We have found new ways to stay separate.  The church has been the most resistant to change.  Sunday morning remains the most segregated hour of the week.  I fear that our desire to be inclusive of all will likewise become a scandal onChrist’s body. We will again have to face the stark reality that Christianity is not as welcoming as it’s Christ.

     Bayard Rustin was a brilliant and influential strategist in the pursuit not only of civil rights but also of World Peace and disarmament.  He faced many challenges and disappointments in his over fifty years of championing the welfare of all.  He was the prime organizer of the March on Washington and many other activist efforts.  In a recent book, The Lost Prophet, his contributions to peace are heralded.   It was said of him: The joyous thing for me about you…is that setbacks have never set the direction.  You still see the road ahead.  (Lost Prophet, p.358) 

     Might that be what Jesus was attempting to give to his disciples?  Did he want to give them something inside them that allowed them to keep going when things seemed to be falling apart?  Peace is not dependent upon external, but comes from inside. It is the assurance that there  is  a  road ahead.  It is the  ability  to not  lose  sight of where we are going, even amidst the present chaos.  The indwelling Spirit helps us stay the course.

     It is the guiding light, the hope that keeps us headed in the direction of life giving and welcome.  My peace, I give to you…says Jesus.  There is an old hymn that may help us here: Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in his wonderful face, and the things of earth will go strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace.  This need not be escapism.  It may be the guiding star that helps us keep our direction when it would be tempting to get side tracked. 

      It is this peace that allows us to have hope in the times of pain and uncertainty.  The disciples didn’t realize it at the time, but Jesus’ gift of peace carried them through times of confusion and despair.  It also empowered them to usher in a period of fantastic new developments.  The Peace of Christ fueled their focus for a new era and resulted in the beginning of the proclamation that Christ’s love is offered to all and that Christ welcomes and receives all.

     May we take hope from their ability to weather difficult times and bring new hope to the world.     

     May the Peace of Christ be with you!